UGC NET English August 2024 Morning Shift – Detailed Analysis & Insights

Nerd's Table
Apr 17
3 min read

The NTA UGC NET English exam conducted in August 2024 (Morning Shift) has once again reaffirmed the need for in-depth, strategic preparation rooted in the core literary and theoretical domains. For aspirants aiming for Assistant Professor or JRF eligibility, understanding the pattern, types of questions, and weightage from each category is crucial for future success.

In this blog post, we break down the types of questions, section-wise weightage, and offer insights into how our book series and course material aligned perfectly with the exam trend. Let’s get started.

Overview: What Was Asked in the August 2024 UGC NET English Exam?

The morning shift paper featured a balanced mix of factual recall, comprehension, theoretical depth, and applied logic. Here's a detailed categorization:

Types of Questions in August 2024 Shift

Match the Following – 15 Questions
Chronology-Based Questions – A significant presence
A-E General Statement/Assertion Type Questions – Moderate in count
Simple MCQs with 4 Options – Standard structure continued
Reading Comprehension – 2 passages totaling 10 Questions

These question types indicate that while factual memorization is still relevant, analytical thinking and textual familiarity are being tested more rigorously than before.

Section-Wise Question Distribution (Morning Shift)

Our meticulous analysis of the paper reveals the following breakdown by literary category:

Category	No. of Questions
British Literature	33
Indian Writing in English	15
American Literature	5
World Literature & Diaspora	6
Criticism, Theory, Culture	20
Language and Linguistics	6
Research and Language Aptitude	5
Reading Comprehension	10

Key Observations:

British Literature dominated with 33 questions, indicating its continued centrality.
Postcolonial and Indian English literature saw strong representation.
Theory and Criticism accounted for a significant 20-question chunk, spanning formalist, structuralist, postcolonial, and feminist schools.
Language, Linguistics & Research had a combined 11 questions, reinforcing their importance from Paper II’s perspective.
Reading Comprehension retained its fixed pattern with 10 questions, spread over two thoughtful prose passages.

Deep Dive: Match the Following and Chronology Trends

The “Match the Following” questions (15 in total) were not just factual — they required conceptual clarity and contextual knowledge. For example:

Authors vs. Works
Critical Terms vs. Theorists
Texts vs. Movements
Quotes vs. Authors

Similarly, chronology-based questions tested aspirants on:

Publication sequence of novels
Birth order of writers
Evolution of movements and theoretical schools

Our British Literature Timeline and Theory Cheat Sheets directly addressed these trends.

How Our Study Materials Aligned Perfectly

Our “UGC NET English Complete Book Series” was designed keeping in mind these very trends:

Detailed chronology charts per module
2000+ match-the-following practice sets
Complete PYQ trend analysis
Exhaustive reading comprehension drills
Quick Revision Notes on Theory, Criticism, and Language

Our 2024 mock tests simulated the exact structure of this morning shift—helping hundreds of our students feel confident and familiar on the exam day.

Final Thoughts: What to Expect in UGC NET English 2025?

Based on the August 2024 shift, we can expect the following for future attempts:

Theory, Culture, and Criticism will remain essential.
Match-the-Following and Chronology will dominate 30%+ of the paper.
Indian and World Literature will continue to gain relevance.
Comprehension and Linguistics will test real-time analysis, not just memory.